1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to field of distal protection devices. More particularly, the present invention pertains to devices and methods for coupling a distal protection filter to an elongate shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heart disease is a major problem in the United States and throughout the world. Conditions such as atherosclerosis result in blood vessels becoming blocked or narrowed. This blockage can result in lack of oxygenation of the heart, which has significant consequences since the heart muscle must be well oxygenated in order to maintain its blood pumping action.
Occluded, stenotic, or narrowed blood vessels may be treated with a number of relatively non-invasive medical procedures including percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), and atherectomy. Angioplasty techniques typically involve the use of a balloon catheter. The balloon catheter is advanced over a guidewire such that the balloon is positioned adjacent a stenotic lesion. The balloon is then inflated and the restriction of the vessel is opened. During an atherectomy procedure, the stenotic lesion may be mechanically cut away from the blood vessel wall using an atherectomy catheter.
During angioplasty and atherectomy procedures, embolic debris can be separated from the wall of the blood vessel. If this debris enters the circulatory system, it could block other vascular regions including the neural and pulmonary vasculature, both of which are highly undesirable. During angioplasty procedures, stenotic debris may also break loose due to manipulation of the blood vessel. Because of this debris, a number of devices, termed distal protection devices, have been developed to filter out this debris.
The present invention pertains to adaptors for coupling devices to an elongate shaft. More particularly, the present invention pertains to adaptors for coupling a distal protection filter to a guidewire. In addition, the use of an adaptor in accordance with the present disclosure may allow a user to couple a distal protection filter to a number of different guidewires.
The adaptor may include a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen adapted and configured to receive a guidewire. The adaptor may be coupled to the guidewire by a number of methods such as solder, bronze, adhesive or other technique. The adaptor may also be placed on the wire such that it can be slide along the wire to provide a floating filter. A holding receptacle may be disposed proximate of the distal end of the adaptor. The holding receptacle includes one or more grooves adapted to receive struts of a distal protection filter. In addition, a cap can be slidably disposed about the adaptor such that the cap can be disposed over the holding receptacle to substantially fix the struts in place and, thus, couple the filter to the guidewire.